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When politics enter the picture, credentials take a back seat

Phys · · 773 words · By Mimi Ko Cruz
Cognitive Bias Epistemic Trust Political polarization
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What to know about Cognitive Bias

The article discusses a study published in Scientific Reports regarding how political alignment influences people's perception of expertise. The research suggests that individuals are more likely to trust an expert who shares their political views, even if that person lacks relevant credentials.

Propaganda risk 10%
Claims checked 15
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left12%
Center76%
Right12%

8 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

When politics enter the picture, credentials take a back seat Stephanie Baum Scientific Editor Robert Egan Associate Editor Most Americans know what a real expert's credentials look like: relevant degree, years of experience, and respect from peers.

Why it matters

The problem, according to a study recently published in Scientific Reports, is that none of it matters as much once we find out their politics.

Common ground

That's the central finding of the research led by Mertcan Güngör, Ph.D.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

The article discusses a study published in Scientific Reports regarding how political alignment influences people's perception of expertise. The research suggests that individuals are more likely to trust an expert who shares their political views, even if that person lacks relevant credentials.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-politics-picture-credentials-seat.html

analyticsAnalysis

10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 70% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 15 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 5
info Single Source 4
verified Verified By Reference 4
cancel Disputed 1
help Insufficient Evidence 1
info
Claim 1: “the researchers confirmed that people genuinely did trust experts more when they had relevant academic backgrounds, more experience, and peer-recognized accomplishments.”
SINGLE SOURCE
No evidence was found to support the specific findings of this study regarding trust in academic backgrounds and peer-recognized accomplishments.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — How do you get to study when you have zero motivation to do so? It's a problem we've all faced, myself included.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8QnjbezpaU
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Find research participants for surveys, user interviews and focus groups from our pool of 4M+ verified participants. Respondent simplifies research recruitment.Recruit participants in more than 150 co…
https://www.respondent.io/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — This study explores the neural and behavioral consequences of LLM-assisted essay writing. Participants were divided into three groups: LLM, Search Engine, and Brain-only (no tools). Each completed thr…
https://www.media.mit.edu/publications/your-brain-on-chatgpt…
info
Claim 2: “Weaker signals, like an Ivy League diploma or a large social media following, also influenced trust, but to a lesser degree.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided discusses the value of Ivy League diplomas in terms of salary and general social media trust, but does not reference the specific study's findings on these as 'weaker signals' of expertise.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — But Ivy League grads should be more than able to recover those costs when they enter the working world, according to statistics. Depending on a graduate's degree, the lowest median starting salary for…
https://www.cnbc.com/2011/03/01/ivy-league-diplomas-still-wo…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — H1: Trust in social media is positively associated with social media disclosure intention. The role of privacy invasion experiences has been increasingly mentioned by scholars in recent years (Chen et…
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — This tool allows users to find original Japanese images more easily, and it sparked major discussions in tech forums and on social media. How to Track Viral Trends on modelindoterbaru.store?
https://modelindoterbaru.store/abg-sma-viral-on-social-media…
schedule
Claim 3: “participants trusted an expert because of shared politics, they retroactively inflated their assessment of that expert's credentials”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
cancel
Claim 4: “a study recently published in Scientific Reports... led by Mertcan Güngör, Ph.D. candidate in psychology at UC Irvine”
DISPUTED
The claim states the study was published in 'Scientific Reports'. However, the provided web search evidence explicitly states that research conducted by Mertcan Güngör and Professor Peter Ditto was published in 'PNAS Nexus'. While Güngör is confirmed as a PhD candidate at UC Irvine, the publication venue contradicts the claim.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The research, published in PNAS Nexus, was conducted by Department of Psychology Ph.D. candidate Mertcan Güngör and Professor Peter Ditto and introduces the term “political breakup” for the loss of a …
https://goldrushcam.com/sierrasuntimes/index.php/news/local-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Mertcan Güngör. Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. 105 followers 103 connections. See your mutual connections. View mutual connections with Mertcan. Mertcan can introduce you to 10+ people at University o…
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mertcan-gungor-80a044391
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — PhD student @ UC Irvine studying political and moral psychology. ! Iranian students are facing unprecedented academic and financial hardship applying to international universities. Most countries do n…
https://twitter.com/MertcanGungor_
help
Claim 5: “The effect of whether the expert agreed with them politically was more than twice as large as the effect of credentials”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found for this claim in the provided search results.
verified
Claim 6: “The second experiment, with 498 participants, tested whether those stated preferences actually matched real behavior.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While one search result mentions a study with 498 participants, it is about 'preferred gaze duration' published in Royal Society Open Science, not the study on expertise and politics described in the claims.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Aeroméxico Flight 498 was a scheduled commercial flight from Mexico City, Mexico, to Los Angeles, California, United States, with several intermediate stops. On Sunday, August 31, 1986, the McDonnell …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroméxico_Flight_498
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Flight 498 may refer to: Aeroflot Flight 498, crashed on 14 June 1981 Aeroméxico Flight 498, crashed on 31 August 1986 Crossair Flight 498, crashed on 10 January 2000
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_498
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — MIL-STD-498, Military Standard Software Development and Documentation, was a United States military standard whose purpose was to "establish uniform requirements for software development and documenta…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIL-STD-498
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 7: “Respondents ranked attributes like relevant degrees, research experience, peer recognition, and moral character as the most important signals of expertise”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided contains general discussions of moral character and research barriers but does not mention the specific rankings or attributes from the study described in the claim.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Accordingly, this work unifies research on moral character, moral recognition, sensemaking, and. judgment and decision-making into a person-centered account of ethical decision-making, highlighting the…
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357971842_The_Chara…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — We review empirical research on (social) psychology of morality to identify which issues and relations are well documented by existing data and which areas of inquiry are in need of further empirical …
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6791030/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Key barriers identified were limited funding in competitive environments, inequitable recognition (patriarchy, gender bias, hierarchy, and power imbalances), and a scarcity of protected research time.…
https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article?id=10.1…
schedule
Claim 8: “a medical doctor who held the 'wrong' political opinion was trusted no more than a mechanical engineer with little relevant experience.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 9: “That bias toward like-minded experts... was equally strong among pro-choice and pro-life participants.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 10: “In the most revealing experiment, 1,776 participants read biographies of a fictional researcher who had written a best-selling book on abortion.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence consists of generic Wikipedia entries for 'Over-the-top media service' and the word 'The', with no mention of a study involving 1,776 participants and fictional abortion researchers.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — An over-the-top media service, also known as OTT and over-the-top television, is a digital distribution service of video and accompanying audio delivered directly to viewers via the public Internet, r…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over-the-top_media_service
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is the definite article in English. The, or THE, may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_(disambiguation)
verified
Claim 11: “In the first part, 208 participants were asked which factors they considered important when evaluating an expert on topics ranging from skincare and nutrition to abortion and police brutality.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
No evidence was found regarding a study surveying 208 participants on expert evaluation factors across the specified topics. The search results returned unrelated studies on stunting in Kenya and aircraft specifications.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Cessna 208 Caravan is a utility aircraft produced by Cessna. The project was commenced on November 20, 1981, and the prototype first flew on December 9, 1982. The production model was certified by…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_208_Caravan
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of Transport for London (TfL) contracted bus routes in London, England, as well as non-TfL bus routes that enter Greater London (except coaches). TfL bus routes in London are operated b…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bus_routes_in_London
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Peugeot 208 is a supermini car produced by the French automaker Peugeot. Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2012 and positioned below the larger 308, the 208 replaced the 207 in 2012, and …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peugeot_208
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 12: “Mertcan Güngör et al, Politics matter more than credentials in laypeople's judgments of expertise, Scientific Reports (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-40053-0”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 13: “A mechanical engineer who shared a participant's views on abortion was trusted just as much as a medical doctor whose views were unknown.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 14: “Superficial traits like height, looks, race, and sexual orientation ranked at the bottom.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided consists of general Wikipedia definitions of 'height' and does not contain any data from the study regarding the ranking of superficial traits.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Height measurement using a stadiometer Human height or stature is the distance from the bottom of the feet to the top of the head in a human body, standing erect.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_height
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Interactive Height Comparison Tool: Visualize height differences in real-time. Our tool allows you to input any height and instantly see an accurate visual comparison scaled to perfection.
https://www.heightcomparison.com/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Height is measure of vertical distance, either vertical extent (how "tall" something or someone is) or vertical position (how "high" a point is). For an example of vertical extent, "This basketball pl…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Height
verified
Claim 15: “Their paper, titled "Politics matter more than credentials in laypeople's judgments of expertise," put more than 2,400 participants through a series of experiments”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence does not contain any mention of a paper titled 'Politics matter more than credentials in laypeople's judgments of expertise' or the specific participant count of 2,400 for such a study. The search results are generic or unrelated.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. Under the U.S. Constitution, the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_Unit…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is the definite article in English. The, or THE, may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_(disambiguation)
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.